Ballonet measurement systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11433984-B2
Application number	US-201916389099-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2019
Priority date	Apr 19, 2019
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

An airship includes a ballonet, a ballonet tracking system, and a vehicle management system. The ballonet is disposed within the airship and includes a ballonet surface. The ballonet tracking system includes one or more light emitters disposed within the ballonet at one or more fixed locations and one or more light detectors disposed within the ballonet at the one or more fixed locations. The ballonet tracking system measures a plurality of distances between one or more fixed locations and one or more locations on the ballonet surface. The ballonet tracking system also calculates differences between a predetermined set of expected distances and the plurality of measured distances. Based on the calculated differences, the ballonet tracking system calculates a volume of the ballonet. The vehicle management system is communicatively coupled to the ballonet tracking system and controls the operation of the airship using the calculated volume of the ballonet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An airship, comprising:
a ballonet disposed within the airship, wherein the ballonet comprises a ballonet surface;
a ballonet tracking system disposed at a fixed location within the ballonet, the ballonet tracking system comprising:
a measurement device comprising a light emitter and a light detector;
a first mount coupled to a first motor, the first mount and the first motor configured to change a polar angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location; and
a second mount coupled to a second motor, the second mount and the second motor configured to change an azimuthal angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location;
wherein the ballonet tracking system is configured to:
measure a plurality of distances between the fixed location and one or more locations on the ballonet surface;
calculate differences between a predetermined set of expected distances and the plurality of measured distances; and
based on the calculated differences, calculate a volume of the ballonet; and

a vehicle management system communicatively coupled to the ballonet tracking system, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to control the operation of the airship using the calculated volume of the ballonet.

2. The airship of claim 1 , further comprising:
a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure within the ballonet; and
a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature within the ballonet;
wherein the ballonet tracking system is further configured to measure a center of gravity and a mass of air based on the measured pressure, the measured temperature, and the calculated volume of the ballonet.

3. The airship of claim 1 , the ballonet tracking system further comprising a transparent housing covering the measurement device, the first and second motors, and the first and second mounts.

4. A system disposed at a fixed location within a ballonet of an airship, the system comprising:
a measurement device comprising a light emitter and a light detector;
a first mount coupled to a first motor, the first mount and the first motor configured to change a polar angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location; and
a second mount coupled to a second motor, the second mount and the second motor configured to change an azimuthal angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location;
wherein the system is configured to:
measure a plurality of distances between the fixed location and one or more locations on a surface of the ballonet;
calculate differences between a predetermined set of expected distances and the plurality of measured distances; and
based on the calculated differences, calculate a volume of the ballonet; and

wherein the airship is operated at least based on the calculated volume of the ballonet.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined set of expected distances comprise distances from the fixed location and predetermined locations on the ballonet surface when the ballonet is full.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the system configured to measure each of the plurality of distances comprises:
emitting light from the light emitter from the fixed location; and
measuring a reflection at the light detector of the emitted light reflected from the ballonet surface;
wherein the respective measured distance is based on the measured reflection.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the fixed location is located on a portion of the ballonet that does not change shape based on a volume of air within the ballonet.

8. The system of claim 4 ,
wherein the system configured to measure the plurality of distances comprises:
changing the polar or azimuthal angle of the light emitter.

9. The system of claim 4 , further comprising:
one or more pressure sensors configured to measure a pressure within the ballonet; and
one or more temperature sensors configured to measure a temperature within the ballonet;
wherein the system is further configured to measure a mass of air within the ballonet based on the measured pressure, the measured temperature, and the calculated volume of the ballonet.

10. The system of claim 4 , wherein:
the system is communicatively coupled to a vehicle management system of the airship; and
the vehicle management system modifies the volume of air within the ballonet based on a communication from the system to the vehicle management system, wherein the communication comprises the calculated volume of the ballonet.

11. A method, comprising:
measuring, using a ballonet tracking system disposed at a fixed location within the ballonet of an airship, a plurality of distances between the fixed location and one or more locations on a surface of the ballonet, wherein the ballonet trackin 2 system comprises:
a measurement device comprising a light emitter and a light detector;
a first mount coupled to a first motor, the first mount and the first motor configured to change a polar angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location; and
a second mount coupled to a second motor, the second mount and the second motor confi 2 ured to chan 2 e an azimuthal angle of the measurement device relative to the fixed location;

calculating differences between a predetermined set of expected distances and the plurality of measured distances;
based on the calculated differences, calculating a volume of the ballonet; and
controlling the operation of the airship using the calculated volume of the ballonet.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined set of expected distances comprise distances from the fixed location and predetermined locations on the ballonet surface when the ballonet is full.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining the predetermined set of expected distances by measuring a plurality of distances between the fixed location and the one or more locations on the ballonet surface when the ballonet is full.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining the mass and center of gravity of air within the ballonet based on the calculated volume of the ballonet.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein controlling the operation of the airship comprises changing the volume of air within the ballonet.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein measuring each of the plurality of distances comprises:
emitting light from the fixed location; and
measuring a reflection of the emitted light from the ballonet surface;
wherein the respective measured distance is based on the measured reflection.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein:
emitting light comprises turning on a laser device at the fixed location for a fixed duration; and
measuring the reflection of the emitted light comprises using a photodetector and processing circuitry to determine a duration of the measured reflection.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein measuring a plurality of distances comprises:
measuring a first distance from the fixed location to a first location on the surface of the ballonet using the light-emitter and the light-detector;
changing the orientation of the light-emitter and light-detector relative to the ballonet; and
measuring a second distance from the fixed location to a second location on the surface of the ballonet using the light-emitter and light-detector.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising, for each of the plurality of distances:
changing the orientation of the light-emitter and light-detector relative to the ballonet; and
measuring a next distance from the

Assignees

• Lockheed Corp

Inventors

• Walker James Dakota
• Moores Louise Kathryn
• Jullens Clinton

Classifications

• B64B1/62 Primary

  Controlling gas pressure, heating, cooling, or discharging gas · CPC title

• B64B1/60 Primary

  Gas-bags surrounded by separate containers of inert gas · CPC title